


A Good Day To Fly

by firebirdschild



Category: Honor Harrington Series - David Weber
Genre: Bonding, Gen, Treecats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-28
Updated: 2013-04-28
Packaged: 2017-12-09 20:30:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/777682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firebirdschild/pseuds/firebirdschild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laughs Brightly, Nimitz as he was known in the human tongue, had always know that Dances On Clouds belonged to him....</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Good Day To Fly

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rose_To_Fall](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose_To_Fall/gifts).



> Laughs Brightly didn’t care what the other ‘cats thought. He knew who she was, knew what he wanted. _She_ , Dances On Clouds as the ‘cats had decided to call her, was the person with whom he belonged. 

Like most of the younger members of the Bright Water Clan, initially Laughs Brightly hadn’t paid any particular attention to Dances On Clouds or her family. Their territory was very near the location in the Copperwall Mountain Range which the Chou-Harrington family called home. But then, it was near several other Clan’s ranges as well. The Chou- Harrington family were respectful of the ‘cat’s presence, having even gone so far as to have had a patch of celery planted at the edge of their property. But aside from that, the Chou-Harrington family had coexisted with his Clan without interference. 

But as Dances On Clouds grew and was permitted to roam further from the family home, Bright Water’s scouts, Laughs Brightly included, had taken notice of her. She was unlike any other human they had ever encountered, especially for one so young. She was thoughtful, rational for one still so tender in age. And she was fearless. And unlike so many humans, given a choice Dances On Clouds spent as much of her time outdoors as she could possibly manage. 

He’d never intended to do so, but it became a habit. Each day, Laughs Brightly made sure that path through the Bright Water Clan’s territory took him as close as possible to the Chou-Harrington home around the time when Dances On Clouds would be likely to emerge. _She’s just a kit,_ he reasoned, trying to ignore the inevitable twinge inside that told him that the coincidence of his presence each day was anything but. _The mountains are dangerous for a human child. I’m just making certain she doesn’t get hurt._

But he knew that wasn’t the truth. And on the day he followed her to the edge of one of the steepest cliffs in that part of the mountain range and saw her pull out and begin to assemble the glider, he was finally forced to admit it. 

\---

Engrossed in what she was doing, Honor completely missed the presence of the treecat until he’d been sitting beside her for quite some time. She’d been busy. Busy assembling the quick connect tubing and thin membrane of the glider her uncle had gifted her for her 11th birthday. 

The day she’d received it she begged her parents permission to take it outside. 

“No, Honor,” her father replied firmly. “Not until Jacques teaches you how to operate it safely _indoors_. When Jacques says you’re ready, then you can take it out but not one minute before. Have I made myself clear, young lady?”

Any other child would have pouted, pitched a fit at having been denied. But Honor wasn’t just any child. She was the daughter of Allison Chou and Alfred Harrington. And she had determination to spare. Rather than fighting her father’s edict, she did what he asked. She commed Uncle Jacques, scheduled lessons with the glider at an indoor facility. And she practiced. 

Honor spent the first ten months of the of Sphinx’s early fall practicing. Every day she would drill herself, assembling and disassembling the pieces of the glider until she could do so perfectly in complete darkness, using nothing but the feel of slick metal and thin plast beneath her fingers to guide her.

“Alfred, she’s ready,” Jacques had told his brother-in-law just the night before over dinner.

“My daughter may be ready for this, but I’m not,” he replied, head shaking in bemusement. “Okay, shadow, you win.”

Unable to contain her exuberance, Honor had whooped with joy, right there at the dinner table, then flushed the color of a Copperwall maple leaf upon realizing what she’d done. But her parents and uncle just smiled at her despite the breach in dinner table etiquette. It was so very rare for her to act her age. As soon as dinner had been finished she’d bolted out of the house. She knew exactly where she wanted to go. 

It was the perfect vantage point from which to begin her maiden voyage. She’d picked it out months ago, had spent hours sitting just a handbreadth from the edge of it watching birds riding the thermals and leaves being tossed about by the winds. She’d used those leaves, surreptitiously taken them with her and tossed them one at a time into the air of the indoor arena where Uncle Jacques took her for practice. She knew exactly what patterns the leaves would dance and twirl when the winds were right for flying. She knew the erratic, frantic suicide dives they would perform when the winds were too strong for her to manage on her own. This was her place. Honor was quite certain that she knew it better than any other living being on this planet.

Her slender, boyish body threaded sure-footedly through the trees. Late day sunlight slanted across the forest at an oblique angle, outlining the trunks and branches of each tree in a gloriously rich amber glow. Half an hour’s time at a steady trot saw her reaching the outcropping. Nothing she thought about for the entirety of the trek to her spot could keep the humongous grin off her face.

Upon arriving, she took a quick moment to stand on the edge of the precipice, gauging the wisps of air which skated across her scalp through close cropped dark hair. _Yes, _she nodded firmly, _today would be a good day to fly._ __

__Backing away from the edge of the outcropping, Honor unstrapped the glider’s slim rolled up package from her back. She set it down in the clearing, sitting back on her heels as she began the careful assembly of the metal frame’s struts. Each piece was assembled, rolling the threaded joints of the tubing back and forth as the fit together to make certain they matched perfectly, not cross-threading. Tubes done Honor reverently unfurled the silky plast membrane that would be her wings. Her hands glided and slid as she smoothed the fabric out across the forest floor._ _

__The quiet bleak - far closer than she’d ever been to any ‘cat before - startled Honor out of the near worship with which she’d been assembling her craft. Looking up, Honor found them to be almost nose to nose. Eyes the color of the plains grasses on a warm summer day met hers in a face whose expression spoke of significant bemusement._ _

__“What?” Honor asked, trying to keep her tone civil. She hadn’t intended on having an audience for her first flight. What if she failed? But this was the ‘cat’s home, and much as she might have thought of this as her place she was the guest in their home._ _

__The ‘cat continued watching her, sitting upright on strong hind legs, back straight and tall. Looking at him, Honor couldn’t help but admire the lush thickness of his cream and grey coat. It looked soft, warm, comforting. Her hands itched to run down the length of his spine, finger-combing through that thickness to feel it’s glorious slide across her skin._ _

__Nothing could have surprised Honor more than what happened next. Settling back dexterously on all six limbs, the ‘cat stalked gracefully forward, closing the gap between them. His body sunk to the ground beside her. His head lowered. His flank came to rest just a hair's breadth from her fingertips._ _

___Touch._ The thought beckoned cautious welcome, inviting her inside, proffering safety, companionship. _ _

__Oh yes, Laughs Brightly knew exactly what he was doing. And while it might not have been the path the Clan elders had expected for him, might not be what he had planned for himself, this was right. This was home._ _


End file.
